Author Archives: DomainNameWire

About DomainNameWire

Domain Name Wire is a blog that deals with the domain name sector. The blog covers a range of domain related topics ranging from issues concerning expiring domains, monetization, domain registries and registrars, ICANN, policy, law etc. The blog began in March, 2005, after Mr. Allemann had dropped out of meetings to become involved in domain portfolio company, iREIT. The project began as a hobby to keep him involved in the domaining business, and then became his full-time business.

Fri 11th February 2011
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
L.A. County Department of Public Health Looking in to DOMAINfest Illnesses - County looking into cause of outbreak; Oversee.net issues statement. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is looking into the outbreak of illness after last week’s event, sending a survey to all those registered to attend DOMAINfest. The first people have begun receiving the survey link and you may not have received it yet. Oversee.net released a statement this evening about the matter, which is in its entirety below: Domain Sponsor, the organizer ... read more ...
Thu 10th February 2011
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Go Daddy Premium Listings New Business Model for Domainers - Some domainers get bulk of revenue from Go Daddy sales service. I’ve written before about my success with Go Daddy Premium Listings that place your domain names for sale directly in front of buyers in the Go Daddy registration path. But with only a few hundred domains at Go Daddy my sample size is small. While at DOMAINfest last week I spoke to a few people who have large portfolios at Go Daddy. Two of them told me Go Daddy Premium Listings have basically become ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Comodo Buys DNS.com - Security firm buys DNS company with domainer roots. Congratulations are in order for two people close to the domain name industry — Dan Kimball and Sean Stafford. The pair have sold their company DNS.com to Comodo, a large online security firm. DNS is a natural extension for Comodo’s product line. DNS.com started as ComWired.com, a geodirectional DNS system. Once the company started offering authoritative DNS services it picked up the DNS.com domain name for ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Send a Valentine with Google? Company Registers Valentine’s Domains. - Google may be offering some sort of Valentine’s Day gimmick next week. Valentine’s Day is Monday, February 14th. As millions of guys struggle to find that perfect gift, it’s possible that Google will come to the rescue on Monday. The company has registered a couple domain names that suggest this: GoogleValentine.com and GoogleValentine.org. The domain names were registered on February 8. Does that mean you’ll be able to send a Valentine’s eCard via Google ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Be Very Afraid of UDRP Reform - Domain investors have uphill battle in UDRP reform. UDRP reform is coming. And this should scare the crap out of you. Now let me get a few things out there: 1. I’ve never been a party in a UDRP case 2. I’ve read (and written) about many UDRP cases where the wrong decision was made Thus I’m a fan of fixing some of the inequalities in UDRP, the lack of contracts with UDRP providers, etc. But let’s be honest. When’s the last time domain investors got what ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Unsubstantiated Rumors About DOMAINfest Illness - Rumors behind DOMAINfestitus. So I decided to go to the doctor today after reading Dr. Ron Jackson’s coverage of the mysterious DOMAINfestitus. I haven’t had flu-like symptoms; just a cold that has gotten progressively worse over the week. My doctor gave me a Z-pack to hopefully wipe it out. But what exactly happened at the conference last week? I’ve heard a number of rumors. I should stress that these are completely unsubstantiated and weak at best. – ... read more ...
Wed 9th February 2011
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
UDRP Cases Spike in 2010 - Number of cases filed in 2010 increases thanks largely to brand protection services. The number of Uniform domain-name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP)cases filed at the two largest arbitration providers increased over 25% in 2010 compared to 2009, a Domain Name Wire analysis shows. However, the rate of filing defined as the number of cases divided by the number of registered domains remains near an all time low. World Intellectual Property Forum handled 2,696 cases ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Microsoft Scores Bi.ng Domain Name - Company registers short Nigerian domain name. Microsoft registered the short URL Bi.ng on February 4 thanks to the liberalization of Nigeria’s .ng domain name to allow limited second level registrations. Previously you were required to register .ng domain names at the third level, e.g. name.com.ng. However, Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) is now selling second level domains through an “auction“. Companies with trademark rights in a particular ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
UDRP Panel Transfers PayBack.es Domain Name - Generic domain name to be transferred as result of arbitration decision. Is the term “payback” generic? Of course it is. It has many potential uses. Still, a World Intellectual Property Forum panelist has awarded the Spanish ccTLD Payback.es to Germany’s Payback GmbH. The complainant offered to buy the domain name from the domain owner for a nominal sum, after which the owner said the complainant needed to make a “serious” offer. The respondent didn’t ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Last Day for Discounted Hotel during Domain Roundtable - Hotel rates at Atlantis increase tomorrow. We got more ice in Austin today after a snow day last week. Whether you’re shoveling your driveway or trying to overcome that Domainfest-induced flu, I bet you wish you were in the Bahamas. Domain Roundtable is heading to the Bahamas the first week of March, but discounted hotel rates are only available through today. Reservations require a non-refundable two night deposit. The first day of Domain Roundtable on March ... read more ...
Tue 8th February 2011
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Considers Bringing Whois Escrow In House - ICANN considers future of Registrar Data Escrow Program. Domain Name Wire has learned that ICANN is considering handling whois escrow services internally. Registrar Data Escrow Program (RDE) is currently managed by Iron Mountain Intellectual Property Management, a third party. Its contract ends in November. RDE is a program that escrows a registrar’s whois information in case of registrar failure. In a survey sent to domain name registrars, ICANN asks respondents ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Next Navigation Sells Pathology.com and More - Australian company cashes in in latest Great Domains auction. Australia-based Next Navigation has sold Pathology.com for $33,500, one of several domains it sold through the most recent Great Domains auction on Sedo. The company also sold: Feline.com for $20,600 GasStation.com for $13,600 Trillion.com for $12,854 Rivalry.com for $10,099 NeonLight.com for $1,050 Cad.org for $3,800 The company has a developed site at Shares.com.au, which is an online forum for Australian ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Observations from Moniker’s Live Auction - Why sales were low and what it says about the current state of domain name auctions. Moniker’s live auctions (low no reserve and premium) last week sold just over $400,000 of domain names. The top seller was Won.com at $115,000. This is obviously a low number. I have two observations from the results: 1. A lot of these domains would have sold for much more back in 2007. Check these out: TrafficJam.com $11,500 OfficePark.com $6,000 Exhausted.com $2,000 All ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Sedo Tops $100M in Sales in 2010 - Domain broker announces record year for domain name sales. Sedo announced today that it helped sell over $100 million worth of domain names last year. It’s the first time the company has hit 9 figures in a year. The total was no doubt helped by the $13 million sale of Sex.com. Without the Sex.com sale Sedo’s numbers would actually be down compared to 2009 as 2010 numbers are up $2.5 million from the prior year. .De continues to be Sedo’s most sold country ... read more ...
Mon 7th February 2011
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain Name Wire’s DOMAINfest Recap - Recapping DOMAINfest 2011. DOMAINfest Global 2011 attracted nearly 700 people affiliated with the domain name industry. There was a lot of business and a lot of fun. Here’s my recap. Monday I arrived in Santa Monica Monday afternoon and traveled to the Fairmont. Shortly after arriving I headed over to lunch with a few domain investors. Then it was time to set up the BigJumbo exhibition booth. Monday evening I attended the Southern California Domainers’ meetup ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Joan Rivers Body Double is No Stranger to Go Daddy Commercials - Body double had key role in 2009’s most watched Super Bowl commercial. By now you’ve no doubt seen the GoDaddy.co commercial from yesterday that introduced Joan Rivers as the .co girl. Of course that wasn’t her real body, which is why so many people were “misled” by the body shots Go Daddy sent out before the commercial. So who does that body belong to? It’s Tabitha Taylor, who starred in 2009’s most watched Super Bowl commercial (according to Tivo). ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Stockbrokers.com Sells for $185,000 - Premium domain name changes hands and springs into developed web site. Domain name monetization company Dotzup has sold Stockbrokers.com for $185,000 in cash to Reink Media Group. The deal was closed last week via Escrow.com. Reink Media Group owns a handful of other investing sites including StockTradingToGo.com, tradeWISER.com, and TraderMike.net. But Stockbrokers.com is certainly a crown jewel for the company. In fact, much of tradeWISER.com has already moved ... read more ...
Sun 6th February 2011
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
GoDaddy.co Gets Ready and Network Solutions Piggybacks - Lots of mainstream attention on domain names today. We’re just hours away from Go Daddy’s Super Bowl commercials and a huge plug for the .co domain. I really have no idea who the GoDaddy.co girl is. My guess is it’s not someone from Colombia, but that’s about all I have at this point. I’m thinking that Go Daddy might not actually show who the .co girl is on the TV commercial and instead send viewers to their web site to see the revealing. This would ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.Co and Other Commercialized ccTLDs Hit New York Times - Article highlights commercialization of two letter country code domains. The New York Times published an article today about the commercialization of country code top level domain names. Colombia’s .co will get major attention after a Go Daddy commercial plugs it today, and .co was front and center in the article. .Co Internet CEO Juan Calle noted that Colombia gets 25% of revenue from sales of .co. This is the first time I’ve seen this number published. .Co ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
GoDaddy.co Girl Is Joan Rivers - Surprise! New Go Daddy .co girl is Joan Rivers. Go Daddy’s .co commercial is now online and the new GoDaddy.co girl is… Joan Rivers? Yeah, so if you were guessing based on those photos of her body, you were probably off by a bit. Of course that’s not her real body you’ve been seeing.The idea is that if Joan Rivers can reinvent her “body”, you can reinvent yourself with .co. I guess I was right that she was wearing a wig — or that that wasn’t her ... read more ...
Sat 5th February 2011
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
That’s a Wrap on DOMAINfest 2011 - Three days of domaining in Santa Monica. The biggest ever DOMAINfest conference has come to a close. Almost 700 domain investors, service providers, and attorneys attended this year’s three day event in Santa Monica. Here are a few of my thoughts: – It’s kind of funny showing up to the airport the day after DOMAINfest. There are a lot of hungover domainers. – A lot of the hallway talk at the conference was about how it was unlikely ICANN would greenlight ... read more ...
Fri 4th February 2011
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
UDRP Panel Weighs in on Domain Broker Responses - Jeff, your point is well taken, and relates to what Michael asked above. The point here is that what is relevant to the UDRP is an intention of registering a domain name with the “primary purpose of selling to to the Complainant or a competitor”. What’s been happening, across the board, is that people have registered and been using domain names for years and years, and then someone in the Complainant’s organization hits up a broker, such as Sedo, Marksmen, Buydomains, and so ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Sedo Celebrates 10th Birthday - Happy Birthday, Search Engine for Domain Offers. Domain name marketplace and parking company Sedo turns 10 this month. Sedo wasn’t the first online marketplace for domain names but it quickly grew into a powerhouse. In addition to brokering lots of six and seven figure transactions the company also has a dominate position in ccTLDs. Here are some of the company’s milestones over the past decade: 2001- Sedo officially becomes entity in Cologne, Germany 2002- Sedo ... read more ...
Thu 3rd February 2011
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Moniker Live Domain Name Auction Today in Santa Monica - Live domain name auction starts this afternoon in Santa Monica and online. A live domain name auction hosted by Moniker will take place Thursday afternoon at 4:30 PM PST at the Santa Monica Fairmont. Live bidding will also be available online. The auction will have close to 100 premium domain names including the recently added Rates.com. A handful of domains have already received “pre-bids” including Kiss.me and Love.me. The two domains have already hit their ... read more ...
Wed 2nd February 2011
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
AllState Files 19 UDRP Cases In One Day - Insurance company revs up domain dispute engine. Allstate Insurance Company has filed 19 individual UDRP cases in one day. The 19 cases are current pending compliance review at World Intellectual Property Organization and mostly cover typos. Examples include allostate.com, allsrate.com, and allstaye.com. Other domain names include various financial and insurance products such as allstatefinance.com and allstateglassclaims.com. These new filings are on top of 15 ... read more ...